{"product_id":"preussen-general-officer-pickelhaube-guard-star-plate-fluted-spike-original","title":"Preussen General Officer Pickelhaube Guard Star Plate Fluted Spike Original","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is an original Prussian (Preussen) general officer’s spiked helmet, or Pickelhaube (spiked helmet), identified by its front plate (Wappen) and overall pattern as a helmet of the Prussian general-officer establishment, the grade also worn by members of the War Ministry. It is an officer’s example throughout, and the national cockade dates it to the period after 1897, placing it in the late Imperial and First World War era. On the evidence of the 1914–1918 Rang-Liste (rank list), only about three officials of the War Ministry wore this pattern, an indication of how restricted it was.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe shell (Korpus) is black-lacquered leather of officer’s quality in the rounded German pattern with front and rear visors. The mounts are gilt: a tall fluted officer’s spike rising from a pearl-ringed neck (Perlring) set on a cruciform base with star-form arms, a rear spine (Hinterschiene), and the front plate described below. The fluted spike is one of the distinguishing details of the pattern, which otherwise follows the helmet of the Prussian Guard Dragoons (Garde-Dragoner); the Guard Dragoon helmet carried a smooth spike, while this general-officer version carries the fluted form. Convex officer’s chinscales (Schuppenketten) of overlapping gilt links mount on rosette bosses at the sides. The cockades are the officer’s pattern with serrated silvered outer rings; the right-hand cockade is the national Reichskokarde (national cockade) in black, white, and red, the feature confirming the post-1897 dating, with the Prussian state cockade at the left. The interior retains an officer’s lining with tan leather sweatband (Schweissleder) and silk crown lining.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Pickelhaube was adopted in Prussia in 1842 and became the defining headgear of the Imperial German soldier. The general officers of the Prussian army stood at the head of that establishment, and their helmets were set apart by the applied Guard Star plate combined with the distinctive cruciform spike base and fluted spike seen here. Because the body of serving general officers was small, and the War Ministry contingent who wore the pattern smaller still, helmets of this exact configuration were produced and worn in very limited numbers compared with the line and even the Guard regiments. An officer’s helmet of this grade was a private purchase of considerable expense, and the quality of the gilt work, the applied silver star, and the silk-lined interior reflect that bespoke origin. By the First World War the spiked helmet had given way at the front to the steel helmet from 1916, so surviving officer’s Pickelhauben of this configuration represent the pre-war and early-war Imperial army at its most formal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe front plate is the defining heraldic feature. It consists of the Prussian eagle (Adler) in gilt, wings spread, crowned, grasping the scepter and orb, with the banderoles across the wings lettered FÜR KÖNIG UND VATERLAND (“For King and Fatherland”). Superimposed on the eagle’s breast is a separate applied silver Guard Star (Gardestern), an eight-pointed rayed star bearing a central medallion ring lettered SUUM CUIQUE (“To each his own”), the motto of the Order of the Black Eagle. Within the medallion is a black enamel Prussian eagle on a gilt field enclosed by a laurel wreath. This applied silver star on the gilt eagle is the plate worn by the Prussian Guard and by general officers alike; on this helmet it is the combination of that plate with the cruciform base and fluted spike that identifies the piece to the general-officer pattern rather than to a Guard regiment. The plate carries no regimental cipher or numeral, as general officers did not wear regimental plates, so no specific regiment is named, which is consistent with the grade.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCondition is good with honest age. The leather shell is sound and retains its finish with expected surface wear. The gilt mounts show mellowing of the original finish. The chinscales are complete. The silvered elements, the applied Guard Star and the serrated cockade rings, show age-related surface mottling and minor oxidation consistent with the plating on these components, including a small area of green oxidation at the central medallion; the black enamel eagle center remains intact. The lining is present with age toning. No restoration is evident in the provided images, and the plate, spike, and mounts present as original to the shell. These observations are drawn from photographs, and a close examination on receipt is recommended for final condition assessment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePrussian general officer helmets are among the most sought-after of all Imperial German headgear, standing above both line and Guard regimental officer examples in prestige and market value precisely because so few were made and worn. The applied silver Guard Star, the cruciform base, and the fluted spike together make a general-officer Pickelhaube one of the highest-impact display pieces in the field. For a collector assembling a Prussian grouping, a representative collection of Imperial officer headgear, or a single centerpiece, an intact general officer’s helmet of this configuration is a top-tier artifact.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Derrittmeister Militaria Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50075888517359,"sku":"04-2001 XMS","price":5650.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/9169\/5855\/files\/04-2001xms_7.jpg?v=1782932466","url":"https:\/\/derrittmeister.com\/products\/preussen-general-officer-pickelhaube-guard-star-plate-fluted-spike-original","provider":"Derrittmeister Militaria Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}